An 8-year survey was conducted from 2006 to 2013 at 292 base stations using a bottom trawl to describe the autumnal distribution of cephalopods in the Yellow Sea. The cephalopod catch rate was used as a core quantitative index to analyze species composition, quantitative distribution, inter-annual variability of dominant species, and the spatial distribution pattern in the Yellow Sea. Fourteen cephalopod species, belonging to three orders, six families, and eight genera, were captured during the survey. The number of species captured per year varied (mean, 8±2), and the fewest were captured in 2009. Most of the species were temperate, a number of warm water species were captured, but no cold water species were collected, reflecting the faunal characteristics of a warm temperate zone. The dominant species were Sepioda birostrata, although a slight difference existed between different years. Notably, three new species were recorded from the Yellow Sea during this investigation: . These species were probably present because their habitat ranges may have increased in latitude based on their location, frequency, and quantity. The survey also found that squid and cuttlefish were dominant cephalopods during autumn in the Yellow Sea. The annual catch of different groups of cephalopods fluctuated, and the resource composition structure has changed in the past 10 years. The quantities of cephalopod resources in different regions of the Yellow Sea showed an increasing trend from north to south. Average catch rates in the northern, central, and southern parts of the Yellow Sea were 0.55 kg/h, 0.67 kg/h, and 0.98 kg/h, respectively. These results will provide a theoretical basis for conservation and sustainable utilization of Yellow Sea cephalopod populations.